The Liberation of Belgrade
Chapter 1-Formal Introductions Belgrade 1944 “Meine Herren you are all ware of Stalin’s army pushing in towards us. We strongly believe they will help the communists” General Weichs told his colonels and those of the Nedić regime in his Belgrade office. “We are to defend Belgrade from the east” he said pointing to the map and pointing out where each officer was to be posted. “The Chetniks will be posted in the outer reaches and the Salivationists will be posted next to you all”. Weichs then turned to an colonel and asked him “So Esser why did you say we shouldn’t trust the Chetniks?” and Esser replied “I never Herr General I said we shouldn’t fight alongside with yokels especially if it’s hard for them to find out what side they are on” and Weichs then told him “They sure as hell know what side they’re righting on now, three communist fractions against them; Tito’s partisans, Stalin’s Red Army and the Bulgarian deserters”. Weichs then said “This meeting is now dismissed. Heil Hitler” and then the colonels left the room. Outside of Belgrade the Red Army under the command of General Tolbukhin were also planning. “…if it is not the Germans we should be worrying about it should be the Chetniks or Bulgarians” the General marked in his office. Polkovnik Kaminski then spoke out “Sir our intelligence reports that the Bulgarians posted in Belgrade have turned sides and are fighting the Germans, the Chetniks are too busy with a terror campaign in Šumadija. “V poryadke Kaminski, how about you send your regiment out first?” the General asked and the colonel replied “Sure I’ll be honoured”. “Poluchitʹ sobirayetsya” said Tolbukhin and his officers left. “I hope the Uzbek is right” he then said to him self. Chapter 2-Informal Introductions In the ruins of a Šumadijan village the Chetniks were rounding up Soviet POWS who were recently captured. “Who are these dogs?” their commander Pukovnik Vidić asked when his fighters brought them up. One of his vodniks said to him “They are Stalinists, most of them are Azerbaijani as speech and dress of some of the soldiers make out so” and Vidić then said to the POWs “Who here has the highest” pointing at his shoulder. An officer then stood forward and the vodnik said to him “Ime, čin i ime odreda”. The Azerbaijani replied by shrugging his shoulders and saying “Mən Serb dili bilmirlər, mən yalnız Azərbaycan və Rus danışmaq. Mozhete li vy govorit' na Russkom , mozhet byt”. Vidić then asked him “Können du Deutsch sprechen?” and the Azerbaijani replied “Ja”. The vodnik then asked him the same question in German “Name, rank and name of detachment” and the Azerbaijani quickly said “Mein Name ist Kapitan Ali Mammadov des Siebten Aserbaidschanischen Ingenieure”. “Who is your commanding officer Turkic swine?” the vodnik asked grapping Mammadov ready to punch him when he told him “What does it matter if I tell you or not? It’s bad enough I’m Azerbaijani never mind an officer of a communist army. Regardless of anything I know I and these men will suffer”. The vodnik punched Mammadov in the face and he and the other Chetniks left. “This Mammadov is quite something he knows we’ll do the same regardless if he tells us his commanding officer’s name or not and besides what difference does it make?” Vidić asked and an officer said to him “That’ll they had died thinking they would be set free”. “Vodnik go out there round up every man of the rank serzhant or lower and have them executed, spare all the officers” ordered Vidić. The vodnik got two men to use a machine gun to kill the soldiers while Mammadov and the officers were taken to a barn. “Drug Drljević brigade vodnik Drago” is here to speak to you. “Ah Drago sit yourself down what is it you have to discuss?” Drljević asked. “My brigade is not in the best of shape in terms of supplies drug kommandant” Drago said to his commanding officer who responded “Very well vodnik anything else, Monika?” Drago then replied “Yes Monika’s pregnant, we only found out I’m sorry we put such a burden on ourselves” and Drljević said to him then “Don’t think that way Drago, Monika is from Belgrade correct and her parents are still alive?” and Drago nodded. But he then remembered something “Kommandant there is a problem” and Drljević replied “Go on vodnik” “Monika’s father is an officer with the collaborationists, a police načelnik”. Drljević nodded his head as Drago left the room. “Hey, hey Drago” shouted Mate and Drago turned around. “What is it” he said and Mate replied “When are moving in on Beograd?” which Drago quickly replied to “If you were awake for the last three days you would know we are”. The two men went over to the medical tent were Monika was a doctor at. “So what did he say?” Monika asked and Drago answered “He understands”. Drago then said to her “It’s best as well Stole doesn’t find out until I leave you both at Belgrade”. Drago then walked out of the tent with Mate when Nadia ran over to him and said “Drago I thought you were killed last night” who then told her “No just a bit of a scratch”.